Everly council fields ISU study update

A handful of Everly residents will be able to share their views on the town's quality of life with officials from Iowa State University as part of a special study.

Representatives from the Rural Shrink Smart Project met with members of the Everly City Council on Monday to give a progress update. Led by ISU faculty, the study's stated goal is to develop tools to help all small and shrinking communities actively plan for shrinkage before population loss affects their quality of life.

Everly was one of six Iowa communities selected to participate back in 2021. Other cities include Bancroft, Sac City, Corning, Mt. Ayr and Elma.

"We take a lot of pride and interest in our work, even if it's not always easy," said Dr. Kimberly Zarecor, one of the study's leaders. "We talk with people about how their community is losing population and that it likely is always going to be that way. But accepting it and dealing with it and adapting is the best way to handle it instead of investing money and resources into trying to get people to come back."

Shrink Smart representatives met with local residents two years ago to gather input on Everly. They're ready to meet again, and will gather around a dozen individuals in the coming months to gauge their views on Everly, its quality of life, areas to improve and future outlook.

City officials will be contacting residents who might want to participate in the meeting. A date is yet to be determined.

"Show up and be ready to talk," said Zarecor. "We want people there who want to be there and not feel like they're being told to be there."

• Audit report

The council also fielded an audit report from CPA Abby Schreck, of T.P. Anderson & Co.

Findings from the audit dinged the city for segregation of financial duties, which is common among all small towns. Schreck also suggest raising sewer rates to chip away at the deficit in that fund.

"We don't like to see deficits, so you might want to consider raising those rates even though it's never an easy thing to do," she said.